We calculate p, ±,K± and (+ 0) rapidity distributions and compare to experimental data from SIS to SPS energies within the UrQMD and HSD transport approaches that are both based on string, quark, diquark (q, ¯q, qq, ¯q ¯q) and hadronic degrees of freedom. The two transport models do not include any explicit phase transition to a quark-gluon plasma (QGP). It is found that both approaches agree rather well with each other and with the experimental rapidity distributions for protons, s, ± and K±. In- spite of this apparent agreement both transport models fail to reproduce the maximum in the excitation function for the ratio K+/ + found experimen- tally between 11 and 40 A·GeV. A comparison to the various experimental data shows that this failure is dominantly due to an insu cient description of pion rapidity distributions rather than missing strangeness . The modest di erences in the transport model results on the other hand can be attributed to di erent implementations of string formation and frag- mentation, that are not su ciently controlled by experimental data for the elementary reactions in vacuum.

The amount of proton stopping in central Pb+Pb collisions from 20 160 A·GeV as well as hyperon and antihyperon rapidity distributions are calcu- lated within the UrQMD model in comparison to experimental data at 40, 80 and 160 A·GeV taken recently from the NA49 collaboration. Further- more, the amount of baryon stopping at 160 A·GeV for Pb + Pb collisions is studied as a function of centrality in comparison to the NA49 data. We find that the strange baryon yield is reasonably described for central colli- sions, however, the rapidity distributions are somewhat more narrow than the data. Moreover, the experimental antihyperon rapidity distributions at 40, 80 and 160 A·GeV are underestimated by up to factors of 3 - depending on the annihilation cross section employed - which might be addressed to missing multi-meson fusion channels in the UrQMD model. PACS 25.75.+r

We study central collision of Pb + Pb at 20, 40, 80 and 160 A·GeV within the UrQMD transport approach and compare rapidity distributions of ,K+,K and with the recent measurements from the NA49 Collaboration at 40, 80 and 160 A·GeV. It is found that the UrQMD model reasonably describes the data, however, systematically overpredicts the yield by < 20%, whereas the K+ yield is underestimated by < 15%. The K yields are in a good agreement with the experimental data, the yields are also in a reasonable correspondence with the data for all energies. We find that hadronic flavour exchange reactions largely distort the information about the initial strangeness production mechanism at all energies considered. PACS: 25.75.+r

The amount of proton stopping in central Pb+Pb collisions from 20–160 A GeV as well as hyperon and antihyperon rapidity distributions are calculated within the UrQMD model in comparison to experimental data at 40, 80, and 160 A GeV taken recently from the NA49 collaboration. Furthermore, the amount of baryon stopping at 160A GeV for Pb+Pb collisions is studied as a function of centrality in comparison to the NA49 data. We find that the strange baryon yield is reasonably described for central collisions, however, the rapidity distributions are somewhat more narrow than the data. Moreover, the experimental antihyperon rapidity distributions at 40, 80, and 160 A GeV are underestimated by up to factors of 3—depending on the annihilation cross section employed—which might be addressed to missing multimeson fusion channels in the UrQMD model. Pacs-Nr.: 25.75.2q, 24.10.Jv, 24.10.Lx

We investigate hadron production and attenuation of hadrons with strange and charm quarks (or antiquarks) as well as high transverse momentum hadrons in relativistic nucleus-nucleus col- lisions from 2 A·GeV to 21.3 A·TeV within two independent transport approaches (UrQMD and HSD). Both transport models are based on quark, diquark, string and hadronic degrees of freedom, but do not include any explicit phase transition to a quark-gluon plasma. From our dynamical calculations we find that both models do not describe the maximum in the K+/ + ratio at 20 - 30 A·GeV in central Au+Au collisions found experimentally, though the excitation functions of strange mesons are reproduced well in HSD and UrQMD. Furthermore, the transport calculations show that the charmonium recreation by D + J/ + meson reactions is comparable to the dissociation by comoving mesons at RHIC energies contrary to SPS energies. This leads to the final result that the total J/ suppression as a function of centrality at RHIC should be less than the suppression seen at SPS energies where the comover dissociation is substantial and the backward channels play no role. Furthermore, our transport calculations in comparison to exper- imental data on transverse momentum spectra from pp, d+Au and Au+Au reactions show that pre-hadronic e ects are responsible for both the hardening of the hadron spectra for low transverse momenta (Cronin e ect) as well as the suppression of high pT hadrons. The mutual interactions of formed hadrons are found to be negligible in central Au+Au collisions at s = 200 GeV for pT e 6 GeV/c and the sizeable suppression seen experimentally is attributed to a large extent to the interactions of leading pre-hadrons with the dense environment.

We evaluate the in-medium D and -meson masses in hot hadronic matter induced by interactions with the light hadron sector described in a chiral SU(3) model. The e ective Lagrangian approach is generalized to SU(4) to include charmed mesons. We find that the D-mass drops substantially at finite temperatures and densities, which open the channels of the decay of the charmonium states ( 2, c, J/ ) to D pairs in the thermal medium. The e ects of vacuum polarisations from the baryon sector on the medium modification of the D-meson mass relative to those obtained in the mean field approximation are investigated. The results of the present work are compared to calculations based on the QCD sum-rule approach, the quark-meson coupling model, chiral perturbation theory, as well as to studies of quarkonium dissociation using heavy quark potential from lattice QCD.

We calculate open charm and charmonium production in Au + Au reac- tions at ps = 200 GeV within the hadron-string dynamics (HSD) transport approach employing open charm cross sections from pN and N reactions that are fitted to results from PYTHIA and scaled in magnitude to the available experimental data. Charmonium dissociation with nucleons and formed mesons to open charm (D + ¯D pairs) is included dynamically. The comover dissociation cross sections are described by a simple phase-space model including a single free parameter, i.e. an interaction strength M2 0 , that is fitted to the J/ suppression data for Pb + Pb collisions at SPS energies. As a novel feature we implement the backward channels for char- monium reproduction by D ¯D channels employing detailed balance. From our dynamical calculations we find that the charmonium recreation is com- parable to the dissociation by comoving mesons. This leads to the final result that the total J/ suppression at ps = 200 GeV as a function of centrality is slightly less than the suppression seen at SPS energies by the NA50 Collaboration, where the comover dissociation is substantial and the backward channels play no role. Furthermore, even in case that all di- rectly produced J/ mesons dissociate immediately (or are not formed as a mesonic state), a sizeable amount of charmonia is found asymptotically due to the D + ! J/ + meson channels in central collisions of Au + Au at ps = 200 GeV which, however, is lower than the J/ yield expected from f pp collis ns.

The isospin and strangeness dimensions of the Equation of State are explored. RIA and the SIS200 accelerator at GSI will allow to explore these regions in compressed baryonic matter. 132 Sn + 132 Sn and 100 Sn + 100 Sn collisions as well as the excitation functions of K/pi, Lambda/pi and the centrality dependence of charmonium suppression from the UrQMD and HSD transport models are presented and compared to data. Unambiguous proof for the creation of a 'novel phase of matter' from strangeness and charm yields is not in sight.

We investigate hadron production as well as transverse hadron spectra in nucleus-nucleus collisions from 2 A.GeV to 21.3 A.TeV within two independent transport approaches (UrQMD and HSD) that are based on quark, diquark, string and hadronic degrees of freedom. The comparison to experimental data demonstrates that both approaches agree quite well with each other and with the experimental data on hadron production. The enhancement of pion production in central Au+Au (Pb+Pb) collisions relative to scaled pp collisions (the 'kink') is well described by both approaches without involving any phase transition. However, the maximum in the K+/Pi+ ratio at 20 to 30 A.GeV (the 'horn') is missed by ~ 40%. A comparison to the transverse mass spectra from pp and C+C (or Si+Si) reactions shows the reliability of the transport models for light systems. For central Au+Au (Pb+Pb) collisions at bombarding energies above ~ 5 A.GeV, however, the measured K +/- m-theta-spectra have a larger inverse slope parameter than expected from the calculations. The approximately constant slope of K+/-spectra at SPS (the 'step') is not reproduced either. Thus the pressure generated by hadronic interactions in the transport models above ~ 5 A.GeV is lower than observed in the experimental data. This finding suggests that the additional pressure - as expected from lattice QCD calculations at finite quark chemical potential and temperature - might be generated by strong interactions in the early pre-hadronic/partonic phase of central Au+Au (Pb+Pb) collisions.

We investigate transverse hadron spectra from relativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions which reflect important aspects of the dynamics - such as the generation of pressure - in the hot and dense zone formed in the early phase of the reaction. Our analysis is performed within two independent transport approaches (HSD and UrQMD) that are based on quark, diquark, string and hadronic degrees of freedom. Both transport models show their reliability for elementary pp as well as light-ion (C+C, Si+Si) reactions. However, for central Au+Au (Pb+Pb) collisions at bombarding energies above ~ 5 A.GeV the measured K+- transverse mass spectra have a larger inverse slope parameter than expected from the calculation. Thus the pressure generated by hadronic interactions in the transport models above ~ 5 A.GeV is lower than observed in the experimental data. This finding shows that the additional pressure - as expected from lattice QCD calculations at finite quark chemical potential and temperature - is generated by strong partonic interactions in the early phase of central Au+Au (Pb+Pb) collisions.